Sarus nests sighted in Etawah wetlands

Bird watchers have reason to cheer as six nests of the state bird sarus
containing three chicks and two eggs have been sighted by forest
department personnel, ornithologists and wildlife activists in the
wetlands of Etawah district.

| TNN | Updated: Sep 18, 2012, 16:32 IST

KANPUR: Bird watchers have reason to cheer as six nests of the state bird sarus containing three chicks and two eggs have been sighted by forest department personnel, ornithologists and wildlife activists in the wetlands of Etawah district.
The nests of the bird, Sarus (Grus Antigone), were spotted by volunteers of the Society for Conservation of Nature in the wetlands in Bandha area of the district. SCON members, along with a team of forest department, visited the spot and took pictures of the Sarus nests, eggs and chicks.

Society secretary Rajiv Chauhan told TOI: "At one such nesting site situated among the tall weeds, an adult sarus was found guarding its single egg from predators. The bird, known for ferocious attacks on anyone trying to steal its eggs, was behaving as per its nature. When a team tried to click some photos, it attacked the lensmen several times before making a loud call that signals danger."

"At another nesting site, of the two eggs, one was found destroyed apparently by jungle crows while from the other egg, a chick was seen with a male sarus. Two eggs in one such nest have yet to hatch," Chauhan said.

"Once chicks are born, the male sarus, being taller and stronger than its female counterpart, spends most of the time guarding the nest while the female hunts for food. As the chicks grow, they start foraging with their parents on marshes and shallow wetlands for roots, tubers, insects, crustaceans and small vertebrate prey," he added.

Sarus are omnivorous and feed primarily on tubers of grass, small fishes, snakes and snails, insects, aquatic plants and animals, crustaceans, seeds and berries, small vertebrates and invertebrates.

The sarus is easily distinguished from other cranes in the region by the overall grey colour and the contrasting red head and upper neck. Like other cranes, they form long-lasting pair-bonds and maintain territories within which they perform territorial and courtship accompanied with loud trumpeting, leaps and dance-like movements.

"In our country, they are considered symbols of marital fidelity, believed to mate for life and pine the loss of their mates even to the point of starving to death," said district forest officer Manik Chandra Yadav.

"This year, the count of the nesting site of Sarus bird was quite low due to late arrival of monsoon. In 2010, abundant rainfall played a significant role in attracting the state birds during the breeding period in the region. Normally, the birds would have finished breeding by now, but this year they are still in the process of laying eggs," said Sanjiv, an ornithologist.

"Interestingly, all the six nests have been sighted in the wetlands of Bandha area, which is very close to human population," he added.

Sarus crane attains puberty at the age of 5-6 years. During mating, the male and female dance around each other. Incubation takes 27 to 35 days. Only two eggs are laid at a time. Nests are made (on the ground) in the wetlands. Fledging of chicks takes 55-65 days.

Sarus is regarded a threatened species. It is currently listed in the Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. IUCN (Red List) classifies Sarus crane as vulnerable. Loss of wetlands and damage to eggs by the humans and heavy use of pesticides had led to the decline of sarus population.

There were about an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 mature sarus cranes in the wild in 2009. Its Indian population is less than 10,000.

Sarus cranes live up to 15-20 years in the wild and for 42 years in captivity. There are three subspecies of sarus crane -- grus antigone antigone, grus antigone sharpii and grus antigone gilli.

The tallest flying bird is venerated in India and legend has it that the poet Valmiki cursed a hunter for killing a sarus crane and was then inspired to write the epic Ramayana.

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